This invention relates to a feeding apparatus for breathing masks that allows food and drink intake when the mask is in use, does not reduce the wearer""s field of vision, requires little space, and is protected from dirt and contamination.
The state of the art includes solutions in which feeding valves are equipped with a drinking hose, and wherein said drinking hose can be moved into the mask wearer""s field of vision (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,261). The disadvantages of such a solution are that there is a risk of dirtying and contamination if the feeding apparatus is opened and a risk of damaging the hose in use.
Another solution to reduce susceptibility to contamination would be the use of a sealed mask bag that houses the drinking hose. Such a solution, however, makes it less user-friendly as it is difficult to take the hose out of the bag when wearing protective gloves.
Breathing masks are used in practice that feature a feeding valve for food intake without a hose being connected to the mask. Such solutions have been described in DE 37 08 077 A1, DE-OS 23 21 607, and DE-OS 23 21 344. But these solutions require the wearer of the mask to insert the drinking hose that comes with the food bottle into the feeding valve without being able to see it, and so accidental contact with the breathing mask and the risk of dirtying and contamination cannot be ruled out.
It is a feature of this invention to provide a feeding apparatus for breathing masks that is not equipped with a drinking hose, does not reduce the wearer""s field of vision, is protected from dirt and contamination and allows for contamination-free insertion of a drinking hose, if required.
The object of this invention was to provide a low cost and safe solution for a feeding apparatus of a breathing mask.
This problem of the invention was solved in that a hose coupling 3 in the form of an expansion bellows unfolds automatically into the wearer""s field of vision when sealing cap 1 of the feeding valve 2 is opened, which enables a wearer to easily insert the straw of a food or beverage bottle even when wearing protective gloves.
Placing the feeding apparatus of the invention behind the sealing cap of the feeding valve and compressing the hose coupling like a bellows provides excellent protection from dirt and contamination, prevents the apparatus from reducing the mask wearer""s field of vision and makes it fit into a very small installation space when closed.